Salem: 5 arrested for extorting Rs 6.5 lakh from businessman at gunpoint

SALEM: The

Salem

city police arrested five people for extorting Rs 6.5 lakh from a jewellery shop owner at gunpoint on Wednesday night.

Dhanasekar of

Rajaganapathy Nagar

in

Ammapet

had contacted the victim, S Karthik, 37, of

Anna Nagar

in Ammapet, saying that he wanted to sell 20 sovereigns of gold jewellery for just 6.5 lakh, city police commissioner T Senthil Kumar said.

“Dhanasekar told Karthik to get the gold from his house. When Karthik reached there, a five-member gang surrounded him. They brandished a gun, snatched the money from him and escaped from the house,” the commissioner said.

A team led by inspector Krishnamurthy nabbed the gang from a hideout and recovered the money. They also seized a toy gun.

The gang has been lodged in the Salem Central Prison.s